Sarah crouched down beside him. ‘I can have a go. Move over a bit.’
Dan shuffled out of the way. He watched as Sarah raised her hand and put her finger and thumb on each side of the sliver of paper. She paused. Dan held his breath.
Slowly, Sarah increased the pressure against the page and carefully began to pull it towards her. It stuck, momentarily, until Sarah moved it slowly left and right to free it. With a final tug, she pulled the document loose, sat back on her heels and then looked at Dan.
He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Well done. Let’s have a look.’
Sarah turned the page over and showed him. It was off-white in colour with small puncture holes running along both sides. He could make out faint red lines crossing the page. He took it from Sarah and read the entries written on the page. He frowned then glanced up at the company logo and details at the top of the document. He eased himself back into the chair.
‘It’s a shipping manifest,’ he said. ‘But what the hell is he shipping?’
Sarah stood up and looked over his shoulder at the document in his hand. She reached out and pointed at it. ‘That’s where it’s going,’ she said. ‘S.I.N. – isn’t that Singapore?’
Dan nodded. ‘I reckon so – it’s what was on our luggage tags on the way out here.’ He held the page up to the light. ‘There’s a number here – looks like twelve, twelve, twenty, eleven.’
‘The date it left,’ said Sarah. ‘Whatever it was, we’ve missed it by over a month.’
Dan scratched his chin and thought hard. ‘There’s another sequence of numbers here – maybe it’s a reference number or something Mitch can track for us.’
Sarah nodded. ‘Maybe if we can…’
They both looked up at the sound of a crash and a shout from outside the door. Dan switched off the desk lamp and folded the shipping manifest. Standing, he slipped it into the pocket of his trousers and pushed Sarah round the desk.
‘Quickly,’ he whispered. ‘Put back the documents you were photographing. Grab your things – make sure you’ve got everything.’
Sarah hurried to the other side of the room and tidied the documents as best she could.
Dan grabbed her by the arm. ‘Leave it. We’re out of time.’
He walked over to the door and beckoned to Sarah. ‘Come over here. I’m going to open the door to see what’s going on. Stay close.’
Sarah nodded.
He gently squeezed her hand. ‘Do me a favour. For once, do as you’re told. Okay?’
She nodded. ‘Okay.’
He hit the light switch and the room plunged into darkness. He grabbed the door knob and twisted it slowly, then began to pull the door in towards him. He stood still and listened. He could hear Mitch at the bottom of the staircase. It sounded like an argument with one of the security guards.
Dan craned his neck around the door frame and looked down the hallway. Opening the door wider, he pulled Sarah out into the hallway with him and closed the door. It locked with a dull click. Dan and Sarah stood still, looking at each other, holding their breath.
Dan nodded, and then walked slowly along the hallway. Carefully, he edged closer to the banister at the top of the stairs and peered over. He could see the top of Mitch’s head as well as that of two of the security guards. One of the guards was remonstrating with Mitch.
‘This is a private residence sir. You can’t go upstairs. Guests are restricted to the lower level this evening.’
Mitch held up his hands. ‘I’m sorry guys. I saw one of you walking up the stairs and thought it was okay. I just wanted to take a look at Mr Delaney’s art collection. He has some fine pieces around here. He obviously knows his stuff.’
Dan watched as Mitch drew the guards’ attention away from the staircase and back out towards the reception. Dan turned and pulled Sarah towards him.
‘Listen to me. Go downstairs now, get Mitch and you go and start the car. I think we’ve been found out. If I’m not out of here in five minutes, you leave. You got that?’
Sarah grabbed hold of his arm. ‘We can’t leave you!’
Dan pulled her fingers away. ‘You can. And you will. Do it – I’ll be out as soon as I can. Now go!’
He propelled her across the hallway and down the first steps. She glanced back at him, once, then turned and hurried after Mitch.
Dan heard her improvising a minute later.
‘Darling, there you are! It’s time to go.’ There was a pause. ‘Yes, I do apologise – he can be a terrible bore after a few drinks…’
The voices faded. Dan waited until he heard the sound of the front door close over the murmur of voices from the remaining guests, then began to edge steadily down the stairs.
He almost reached the bottom tread when a security guard emerged from a catering kitchen, turned and looked straight at Dan.
‘What do you think you’re doing?’ he demanded.
Dan froze. ‘Looking at art work?’ he tried.
He glanced to his left, through the reception room. The patio doors through to the terrace and deck were wide open. He glanced back at the security guard. The guard realised a fraction of a second too late what Dan was planning and made a grab for his arm.
Dan quickly took a step backwards, turned, then bolted for the terrace. He wove his way through the guests in the reception area, pushing people to one side. He could sense the security guard in pursuit.
Dan ran out onto the terrace and looked both ways. Security guards emerged from each side of the house, running along the decking towards him. He glanced behind him, just as the first security guard pushed through the crowd.
Dan turned back, and ran.
He vaulted over the ornate stone railing at the edge of the terrace and felt himself falling through thin air.
Chapter 21